Etymograph

English

revolve

Revolve comes from Old French revolver ‘to reflect upon’, from Latin volvō ‘roll’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *welH- ‘to turn, wind, round’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welH-1‘to turn, wind, round’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wolwō1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvolvō2‘roll’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErevolvere2‘turn over, roll back, reflect upon’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400revolver2‘to reflect upon’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500revolven2‘to change direction’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1671revolve2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin volvo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English revolve
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1671, John Milton, (please specify the page): “This having heard, strait I again revolv’d / The…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welH-Wiktionary, Latin volvo‘to turn, wind, round’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wolwōWiktionary, Latin volvoreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvolvōWiktionary, English revolve‘roll’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErevolvereWiktionary, English revolve‘turn over, roll back, reflect upon’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400revolverWiktionary, English revolve‘to reflect upon’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500revolvenWiktionary, English revolve‘to change direction’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1671revolveWiktionary, English revolve. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1671, John Milton, (please specify the page): “This having heard, strait I again revolv’d / The…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *welH- ‘to turn, wind, round’

well, walk, wall, valve, vulgar, waltz, helix, 83 more

through Proto-Italic *wolwō

45 more

through Latin volvō ‘roll’

volume, vault, evolution, involve, 52 more

Today it means

verb To bring back into a particular place or condition; to restore.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “revolve”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin volvo. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *welH- / revolve

Shirt and support for this word